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Christmas Bird Count
by Mike Stiles
This month the Morro Coast Audubon Society will hold its 53rd Christmas Bird Count. We will explore some of the history and logistics of this international event.
In the late 1800's, many people took part in a holiday event called the Christmas Side Hunt. They would gather together in teams, and go afield to see how many birds they could shoot. The team with the biggest number of dead birds was the winner. Thankfully, we've become somewhat more environmentally conscious than that.
In 1900, Frank Chapman, an ornithologist and officer in the brand new Audubon Society, proposed an alternative to the Side Hunt - an annual census of the birds instead. On Christmas day of that year, twenty seven birders in twenty five counts found a grand total of 90 species of birds that day. Compare that to last year, the 108th annual count - almost 60,000 birders counted over 65 million individual birds in 2,113 count areas.
The count census area is a circle of 15 miles in diameter. The circles are situated to encompass the greatest variety of habitats available. The Morro Bay count circle is centered at the corner of Turri and Los Osos Valley Roads. This placement allows local birders to census from the top of the Cuesta Grade to a few miles out in the Pacific Ocean. The circle includes Montana de Oro, Cal Poly, and, of course, the Morro Bay estuary. This diversity of habitats usually puts the Morro Bay count among the top counts in North America, but more on that later. The county also sports a second count circle in the Carrizo Plain.
The Morro Bay count was first conducted in 1948 with two observers who found 102 species. In 1966, the count became affiliated with the newly formed Morro Coast Audubon Society and found 168 bird species. It has grown to roughly 100 observers and the species count hovers around 200 birds. The high count for the Morro Bay circle was 211 birds in 1987.
The Morro Bay count circle is divided into 50 land sectors and four sectors on the water, either on Morro Bay or the ocean. Tom Edell, who has compiled or co-compiled our local event for over 20 years, will sit down with a small group of volunteers to place 100 counters into their preferred sectors. It's not an easy job. Some sectors have more potential for a greater number of birds, and of course, everyone wants the "good" area. In the end though, all sectors are covered, and (hopefully) a boat is procured for the ocean watch. There are even birders assigned as rovers, whose job it is to find certain assigned birds, and some counters will watch the feeders in their backyard.
The count officially starts at midnight and there are people out listening for owls soon after that. Most counters though, will start at daybreak and thoroughly comb their assigned sector for any birds seen. Not only is the number of bird species counted, but also individual birds of each species. It becomes an exercise in estimation when, for example, the cowbird, starling, and blackbird flocks on the Cal Poly campus number in the many thousands each.
The fun, at least for me, happens after dark, when we all gather to eat a turkey dinner (no, the irony is not lost on us) and compile the list of birds seen that day. Tom Edell will read down the list of expected birds and we all will give a yes if we have seen one that day. Groans are elicited when an expected bird is missed, and, at the end, observers will add the names of rare or unexpected birds seen that day.
I suppose it is human nature to compare your total to other's to see which circle had the highest number of species in the nation. Last year, the top 27 counts were either from Texas or California, the top 14 were from coastal locations, and Morro Bay's 202 species placed them in 7th place, a very respectable position indeed. If nothing else, it shows the great natural diversity of our area.
Of course there is much more to it than trying to see who "wins." Over a century of data can show long term trends of the health and status of bird populations. Locally and nationwide, conservationists can chart the sometimes alarming reduction of numbers of sensitive species, or the equally alarming rise of introduced species. It's truly a case of "citizen science" at its best.
This year, the Morro Coast Audubon's count will be on December 19th and the Carrizo Plain count will happen on January 2nd. For more information go to the National Audubon website or the Morro Coast Audubon's Christmas Bird Count page. |
